In the Light Heavyweight division, Chael Sonnen’s first round submission victory over Mauricio Rua was enough to knock ‘Shogun’ off of the rankings, likely the first time the Brazilian has been viewed as an unranked fighter since prior to his PRIDE tournament run in 2005. However, it was not enough to put Sonnen into the top 15 given his limited resume at 205. Instead, everyone below Rua moves up a spot, and Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante slips in at #15.

It took six consecutive wins in the UFC, a feat that used to all but guarantee a title shot, but Matt Brown finally finds himself a ranked fighter. He debuts at 13 after dispatching of Mike Pyle is quick fashion. This pushes WSOF’s Josh Burkman out of the rankings.

The next UFC event brings us the next fight that will impact the rankings, as #3 Carlos Condit and #5 Martin Kampmann seem set to bring one of the most entertaining fights of the summer.

Only one change at Lightweight, as with his lacklsuter performance at Fight Night 26 Joe Lauzon drops from the 15th spot out of the rankings, and Bellator’s Rick Hawn takes his place.

The top spot in the Lightweight division is on the line at UFC 164 as Benson Henderson puts his title on the line against #4 Anthony Pettis in a rematch of their WEC 53 classic. Before that however, #8 Donald Cerrone and #11 Rafael dos Anjos look to move up towards a title shot.

Brad began following MMA closely in 2004, and started writing about the sport in 2008. Since then he has contributed to websites like Sportsnet.ca, but now primarily writes and edits for MMAOddsbreaker.com. You can also follow Brad’s personal MMA bets on his website.